From Med Student to Medical Device Sales Rep — Derek's Story (How He Made the Switch)

0:00what's up everyone this is medical

0:01device Matt super excited for today's

0:04guest Derek Wong who's here who has a

0:07really interesting story we met an

0:09undergraduate he was part of stroke

0:11Force which was this awesome group that

0:12was involved in taking care of stroke

0:14patients and enrolling them in clinical

0:15studies at Ronald Reagan at that time he

0:18was considering medicine and then

0:20eventually went to medical school but

0:23after a year and he'll share his story

0:25made a decision so I want everyone to

0:27welcome Barrett we're really excited to

0:29have you so can you tell us a little bit

0:31about your undergrad experience and how

0:33you ended up choosing medicine as a your

0:35first career yeah for sure no thanks for

0:37having me it's good to be here um so I

0:39was at UCLA for undergrad and that's

0:41where we met and I knew that I wanted to

0:42do something in the health field like I

0:44just really cared about patient care and

0:46and enjoyed that but didn't know what

0:49and so then that's when I tried to

0:50insert myself into different uh Premed

0:52clubs and just different health clubs to

0:54get exposure and that's where we met

0:56stroke force and I didn't know what I

0:59wanted to do all throughout all

1:01throughout College um but it just kind

1:03of kept plugging along and so what I

1:06ended up doing was uh let me just study

1:09as hard as I can and get the best grades

1:11that I can let me be involved in

1:13different health clubs and at the end of

1:15graduation I still didn't know and so I

1:17felt like okay I'm not sure what I want

1:19to do I want to do something in the

1:20health field uh let me just take the

1:22MCAT and so I took the MCAT I scored

1:24high enough I like okay let me just

1:25apply to med school and we'll see what

1:27happens and then I got in a couple

1:30schools and one of them gave me a half

1:32tuition scholarship and that was a

1:33private MD School in Michigan so that

1:36made it pretty clear like okay I'm going

1:37to follow the money I'm going to go

1:39there and I enjoyed it I was there for a

1:41year and it was a good time but I think

1:44early on I felt I knew like this is not

1:48what I want to do this is not my passion

1:51I think I loved medicine and everything

1:54that came with being a doctor but didn't

1:57love it enough where was willing to

2:01mortgage my whole life and sacrifice my

2:03whole life for this because I had other

2:05things that were important to me and so

2:07during that time it was a really hard

2:09time because I felt like a lot of Shame

2:11and embarrassment for thinking about

2:14quitting and stepping away and so that

2:16was like a really difficult time I felt

2:18like I was just kind of following the

2:20current though like I got the grades so

2:23let me take the MCAT I got the MCAT

2:25score so let me apply I got money so let

2:26me go but there was never a moment of

2:29like okay I really really want this and

2:31love this

2:34until I was there and it was just like

2:36okay I don't know if I if I truly love

2:38this yeah well thank you for sharing I

2:40know that's a really personal story we

2:41got to break this down a little bit so

2:44dere you I mean at at you CLA you were a

2:46top student you were involved in some of

2:48the best Premed clubs along many of our

2:50colleagues who went into medicine but

2:51looking at your first year at MD what

2:54experiences help you realize that this

2:56path wasn't for you yeah I think it was

3:00just being there and being inundated in

3:02it and feeling like this is going to

3:05this takes so much time and require such

3:08a big sacrifice and do I love this

3:11enough in order to give my life for this

3:15and really doing soul searching and

3:18realizing like I don't love this enough

3:22yeah I think that's really tough I think

3:24looking at you know High School College

3:26there's a lot of exposure to the main

3:27you know Noble professions uh medicine

3:31you know some of the white collar

3:32accounting jobs firefighting but you

3:35don't get exposure to all these other

3:36roles and these really fulfilling

3:38careers you could have so during your

3:40first year it sounds like you know you

3:42love medicine you want to be involved in

3:44some capacity but maybe becoming a

3:46physician wasn't for you so what came

3:47first those feelings and then looking

3:49for possible other career paths or did

3:51you get a taste of something else that

3:54maybe encourage you to say hey medicine

3:56was fantastic I enjoyed my year here but

3:58I'm going to pursue this new career up

3:59opportunity yeah that's a good question

4:01it was the former so it was I'm feeling

4:04dissatisfied with this I don't know if

4:06this is for me I don't know if I have it

4:08in me to spend the next 12 years in

4:10school and in training and then to start

4:12at the bottom of the ladder even though

4:13it's a high ladder it's medicine it's

4:15prestigious it's it's it's what everyone

4:18wants um but I was feeling that those

4:21those stirrings of discontentment and so

4:24then I took a year off and I had no idea

4:27what I wanted to do so I started soul

4:29searching I put everything back on the

4:30table should I be go to do accounting

4:33should I be an engineer should I be a

4:35teacher should I go be a pastor should I

4:37do a different Health Care profession

4:39and I just didn't know like you said

4:41like I feel like my understanding of the

4:43health fields and potential career

4:46options were so limited like I really

4:48didn't know what was out there except

4:50dentist physical therapist doctor and so

4:53then I start

4:54searching I think that's really awesome

4:56and partly why I wanted you on this

4:58podcast is there's so many great

4:59professions outside of medicine medicine

5:01is an awesome profession and a lot of

5:02people feel called but I appreciate you

5:05you coming on and sharing this really

5:07personal experience because I know the

5:09feelings you had after a year to

5:11yourself you me you know shame and

5:12talking to your family and friends but

5:14during your year off it sounds like you

5:16found yourself your why and what you

5:19wanted to do so what happened during

5:21your year off and is it during that time

5:23this claimer Derek works at medical

5:25device so in that year off what happened

5:28and how did you stumble upon Medical

5:29device yeah yeah so in that year off I'm

5:32like shadowing a ton of different people

5:34I'm spending time with engineers at

5:36Edwards I'm spending time shadowing

5:37different Health Professions and then I

5:40stumbled upon you again uh via LinkedIn

5:44and I saw what you were doing obviously

5:46we were friends at UCLA and so we were

5:49connected that way and I look back at

5:52our old messaging I messaged you on

5:54Facebook and I said hey this is what's

5:56happening with my life I see this is

5:58what you're doing it sounds really

5:59interesting to me from what I had done a

6:02little bit of research on um can you

6:04tell me more about it and then you and I

6:07chatted on the phone you told me all

6:10about at the time you were with

6:12pacemakers with metronic it sounded so

6:14exciting to me it sounded like

6:15everything that I wanted being able to

6:17start working right away being able to

6:19work in the health care field working in

6:22a patient care setting working with

6:23Physicians being a part of the heart

6:24team and then I thought the devices were

6:26just so incredible like just incredible

6:30technology fascinating and so then I was

6:33locked in and I was like okay this is

6:35what I want I came and shadowed you and

6:37able was able to actually see this is a

6:40day in the life this is what it looks

6:41like this is what my life would be like

6:43and then it was just like grinding

6:45trying to get that job and it took me

6:47about a year to get it but then I I knew

6:49that that was what I wanted once I once

6:51we connected and I saw it and then just

6:53pursued it yeah so a lot of people reach

6:56out to you and I about how to break into

6:57medical device I think we're doing a

6:59good job we have done uh you know Zoom

7:01calls where we gave exposure but just

7:04hearing you there's a couple things I

7:05want to point out you know it took you a

7:07year to get a job it's hard to break in

7:08but now you're excelling it's been six

7:11years five years yeah

7:12six you did a really good job of

7:14networking right you use LinkedIn or

7:16Facebook now UCLA has their own

7:18dedicated social networking like other

7:20colleges to connect with alumni and

7:22that's the biggest thing is people want

7:23to help and you need to reach out on

7:25these sites right so you reached out to

7:26me what was even more awesome was you're

7:28able to Shadow and Clinic y so you saw

7:30us check devices work with patients and

7:32the Physicians I think today postco it

7:36might be hard with credentialing to get

7:37into the surgeries or the clinic right

7:40but metronic Academy or the different

7:43industry sites have ways to learn about

7:45the pacing or other device roles and

7:47there's a lot of stuff on YouTube I'm

7:48trying to post content for Day in the

7:50Life to give exposure because I think

7:52for you that shadowing obviously we

7:54talked we were enthusiastic but

7:56shadowing you're like oh sh oh like

7:58this is totally this is cool am working

8:00with patients I am working with the

8:01Physicians they're asking Matt his

8:02opinion on the device and how to program

8:04like that is really cool so now six

8:09years you made a transition but I want

8:10to talk about the last six years you

8:13stuck with it obviously you're a

8:14fantastic person is it hitting what you

8:17wanted in a career as you you know look

8:20to start a family climb a career path

8:22and whatnot yeah yeah I'll be 100 with

8:25you I'll give you the good and the bad

8:27um the in summary

8:30in short I love it like I I'm super

8:33happy I feel very fulfilled I love the

8:35career I love working with doctors I

8:37love working with patients I love the

8:38technology I think it's exciting it's

8:41groundbreaking it's Innovative it's

8:43gamechanging and so I think I love all

8:45that and then I love that I've been able

8:47to like have my life um I was able to

8:50stay in Southern California which is

8:51where my family was is uh I was able to

8:55be active in the church I'm playing

8:56sports every like multiple times

8:58throughout the week like I'm able just

9:00to enjoy my life I've been able to

9:02travel to buy a car to buy a home like

9:05to have all these things to be able to

9:07get married and have the time for it so

9:10and I just want to point out a couple of

9:11my friend all my roommates went into

9:13medicine and they're loving it and

9:14they're going to come out into attending

9:15in a year or two and make a lot of money

9:17but more importantly impact a lot of

9:19patients but the last 8 to 12 years

9:22they've been studying they' survived

9:24covid where they were asked to step up

9:26when resources were low and some of the

9:28things you mentioned

9:30they have delayed right buying a house

9:32buying cars being able to travel because

9:34during residency you know you have to

9:36get trained this is your time to get

9:38exposure to all these things so I just

9:40want to point out the converse which is

9:41you've had the ability to you know be a

9:43part of your church play sports travel

9:46take time and find the love of your life

9:48and now you're married um it's all great

9:50things yeah yeah I have a ton of respect

9:53for Physicians cuz they're like they

9:54grind and you like give yourself to that

9:57and it's such a noble Prof profession

9:59and like good doctors are needed and I

10:02just could I didn't have it in me like I

10:04respect everyone that went through the

10:05process like it's such a ruling 10 to 12

10:08years um but I'm thankful for my time

10:11that like I've been able to have the

10:13time back that I wouldn't have had if I

10:14was in medicine to build all in my life

10:17it's great like I love the career I

10:19think the converse is like the doctor is

10:21the guy yeah and I think that's great

10:24they deserve it but then we're not you

10:27know and so like if you want autonomy

10:30and ultimate responsibility and decision

10:32making the rule doesn't revolve around

10:35the device rep we were there to 100% be

10:38an auxiliary service and then and helper

10:41to The Physician So to that end like if

10:43you're looking to make the most money or

10:45to have like to be the guy be the

10:47captain of the ship like that's not our

10:50job in relation to the physician 100%

10:52And I mean sometimes we're glorified

10:54Caterers right the doctor ask us to

10:56bring in lunch or in these cases for

10:59what you do now or pacing we would just

11:01open product you know tell a couple

11:03jokes to the lab make sure everyone's

11:04excited for the physician to come in and

11:06out but sometimes Physicians and Clinics

11:09do look to you to be that trusted

11:11advisor and help them through the

11:12procedure or programming the device or

11:14follow so that those do feel really good

11:16totally but we are not the big dog corre

11:19and and you have to kind of be that

11:21chameleon as you work with such diverse

11:23personalities outside of what you do for

11:26medical device is there a way where you

11:27feel like the the big dog or get that

11:29fulfillment or anything yeah I think I

11:33think just understanding like it's a

11:35it's a humble I think at times it can be

11:37humbling being in the job uh and I think

11:39that that's good though because I think

11:40like

11:42people and and myself especially can

11:45gravitate towards like power and wanting

11:48that and I think just being able to be

11:50humble um and understand like my place

11:53has been really good with this job to

11:55understand like hey like I don't need

11:57this and like my Worth or my identity is

11:59not tied to what other PE people think

12:02of me ultimately like it's about um what

12:05my loved ones think of me and what I

12:06think of myself and so I think like yeah

12:08like there are settings to be able to be

12:10the guy um but ultimately this job has

12:13really like humbled me and help me

12:16understand like okay my worth is not in

12:18those things that maybe the world says

12:21yeah I mean truly it seems like you

12:23could have done mess and you're one of

12:24the sharpest guys I know but now you

12:26know you're doing really well on your

12:27career yet like I said you're a leader

12:29at your church you're a leader in your

12:31marriage you're able to play sports and

12:33be with friends and be you know the guy

12:34in all these different aspects of life

12:36and when we look at you know what makes

12:38a human it's not just your career it's

12:40you know where you find fulfillment and

12:41passion and all this so people looking

12:45to break into medical device but even

12:46more

12:47Niche people that are studying Premed be

12:51it a freshman to a senior that are on

12:53the fence what are your thoughts what

12:55are your suggestions to so I'm trying to

12:58figure out yeah I'm a junior all my

13:00friends are Premed because that's what

13:02we just all talked about doing since

13:03year one we're going to do you know

13:05these classes we're going to take these

13:06professors we're going to be a part of

13:08emra emergency medicine we're going to

13:09do stroke Force we're going to do these

13:11you know clinical clubs where you're

13:13working with patients or doctors we're

13:14going to research in the lab to gear our

13:16resume to hit all the facet for yes sir

13:19medicine and then we got to go hit the

13:20MCAT for those people that I would say

13:23are following the path and putting

13:24themselves in positions to win you know

13:26how do they answer the really hard

13:29question that you answered about you

13:30know what do I want to do and what does

13:32life mean to me yeah that's a good

13:35question and I don't know if I have like

13:37the ultimate answer for everyone so I'll

13:39do my best yeah I think firstly like to

13:42continue pursuing excellence and being

13:43the best at whatever you're doing so put

13:45your head down and be the best and then

13:48I think also like trying to take a step

13:51back and have self-awareness and

13:53reflection to be able to to prioritize

13:56and understand your values this is what

13:58I want for my life this is what's most

14:01important to me and then trying to put

14:04all the puzzle pieces together of like

14:07okay this is what I value this is what I

14:09want and so what would be a good career

14:12that fits in and aligns with me as a

14:15person and what I'm aiming to do with my

14:18life and my life's purpose yeah and

14:20that's really difficult I mean I think

14:21it takes time it takes maturity it takes

14:23experiences you know we have mentors we

14:25talk to but I think a lot of for me I

14:28need to have EXP experience and learning

14:29to get to those hard questions right I

14:33think it really is kind of like you

14:34don't know what you don't know so like

14:36in undergrad like you really just don't

14:38know all the career fields that are out

14:40there and so I think like when we were

14:42an undergrad we didn't have a resource

14:44like this that is showing us a really

14:48good day in the life and picture into

14:51this is what life and a in a career in

14:55medical device industry is like because

14:56I had no idea this industry existed

14:58until

14:59post grabe when we reconnected but I

15:01think like really trying to put yourself

15:03in positions to see what else is out

15:06there will give you a broader

15:07perspective of like these are my options

15:10yeah and just a little plug Derek and I

15:13do Zoom calls in the fall talking about

15:15medical advice and the potential career

15:17paths there's career counsellors at all

15:20colleges to help advise you y but I

15:23think for us where we have learned so

15:25much about possible careers is the STEM

15:27Science Tech engineering math nights

15:29where they bring in Professionals in all

15:31different industries that want to give

15:33back especially to their alumni and talk

15:34about their careers and that's really

15:36special and what we're doing on YouTube

15:38and medical device men I think there's a

15:40big need to provide exposure for these

15:42really awesome careers that can hit

15:44different buckets for certain people I

15:46really appreciate your story to wrap

15:48this up my final question is looking at

15:50your career progression you have had a

15:51lot of success in medical device it's

15:53been five or six years this is a

15:55two-part question is it hitting now that

15:58we're five or six years out is it what

15:59you wanted and looking as you model your

16:02career going forward there's many

16:04different possibilities I don't know if

16:05you consider this but leadership uh

16:07in-house

16:08marketing as your life changes and your

16:11needs will medical device be able to

16:14suffice that yeah yeah yeah so to answer

16:17the first question I could say so much

16:20in short I I love the field I love the

16:23career I'm very satisfied I feel

16:25fulfilled I'm grateful and blessed to be

16:27able to be here I think think I enjoy

16:30working with Physicians I enjoy the

16:32patient care aspect I enjoy the

16:34technology I enjoy being a part of the

16:36heart team it's everything that I wanted

16:39so I feel very grateful yeah and that's

16:41something that I didn't even know when I

16:43first started I first started with

16:44metronic pacemakers as was a clinical

16:46specialist in a field and I didn't know

16:48like that there's a whole ocean of

16:51opportunities and many different

16:53Pathways that I could go down not only

16:55with metronic pacemakers there's so many

16:57different routes for for for progression

17:00but then you could change companies you

17:01could do a different device right so now

17:03I'm with Edwards and I'm doing

17:04structural heart and even within that

17:06I'm doing one of the valves right but

17:08there's other Valves and there's

17:10replacement and there's repair like

17:11there's so many different opportunities

17:13to stay in the field to go into sales to

17:15go inhouse and so that's something that

17:17I didn't know about that I feel so

17:20excited about is that the medical device

17:22field provides you with so many

17:24different opportunities to be able to do

17:26whatever you want with your career so

17:27you don't want to travel you want to be

17:29more inhouse you do want to get into

17:31sales you can do that and so that way

17:34you're not statically stuck and stagnant

17:37with like this is your one trajectory

17:40your One path you there's so many

17:42different Pathways and I think even now

17:45six years in there's Pathways that I

17:47don't even know about and I don't know

17:48where my career is going to take me like

17:50I didn't know it was going to be here at

17:51Edwards six years later but here we are

17:54yeah I think you're absolutely right

17:55I've been in the field 9 10 years and I

17:58know there's a lot of amazing

17:59opportunities at many different

18:00companies internal be it marketing

18:02research Regulatory Affairs and we hope

18:04to bring those leaders on this podcast

18:06so I could learn more about them as

18:07possible career paths I'm really excited

18:10that you came on and share your very

18:11personal story your story is going to

18:13resonate with a lot of people I think

18:14there's a lot of undergraduates or even

18:15first or second years in medicine that

18:17are you know had the same feelings that

18:19you're having but haven't admitted it so

18:22I want to thank you so much for coming

18:23on medical device met everyone thank you

18:26for watching and listening Derek what's

18:28the best way to find you if we wanted to

18:29connect with you after this yeah I think

18:32just like feel free to connect with me

18:33on LinkedIn um shoot a message I'm happy

18:36to have phone calls and be able to have

18:37further conversation awesome medical

18:40advice Matt says thank you thanks for

18:41coming on I appreciate you bro